


Work for a Cause or Applause

by fuschia_romance



Series: Law Firm lyfe [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe, Law Firm AU, M/M, Workplace, older Mingyu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:47:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26452072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuschia_romance/pseuds/fuschia_romance
Summary: The long-overdue continuation of Jeon Wonwoo's law firm lyfe at the K&C law firm with his (possibly) narcissistic supervisor Kim Mingyu. Is romance between the two in the near future, or not?
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu
Series: Law Firm lyfe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1922854
Comments: 26
Kudos: 70





	1. I get it, 40 under 40

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Okay so immediately after posting last December, I did a bit of research on law school and legal system in South Korea. Which is too late (like post first and research later, why am I like this...) 
> 
> Basically, after that small research I realised that S. Korea had adjusted their system to a system that's quite like the US. Meaning after 2008 there is no way you can joined a law firm in such a young age like Wonu here. I was tempted to adjust their age and story to be closer to real S. Korea. But that would mean to increase Wonu's age to around 27 hence increasing Mingyu's age too, which I don’t want to (because I want a Sugar Daddy kinda vibe lol) since it will defeat the purpose of young, handsome and successful Mingyu. 
> 
> Finally, I decided against it and let's just imagine S. Korea's system like this. So let’s manage our expectation here and think of a Utopian country legal system.

Wonwoo received an email this morning. 

It wasn't any email. He will not even bat an eyelash during his commute to K&C firm if it's works related. But this email came from Eunha, and the title is... 

_"Category 3 – Nar. Storm Warning"_

There isn't body mail aside from a short link. 

Wonwoo clicked the link, and one of his eyebrows raised while he reads the title. While the content is good news, Wonwoo knows why Eunha sent it to her early in the morning. He needs to prepare himself. 

*** 

For more than two years now, Jeon Wonwoo has been working for K&C firm. He's not always enjoying the firm life, but he finds himself looking forward to the jobs most days now. He no longer dreads the commute to the office. He still does not get his 6-hours sleep most weekdays, but he no longer sleeps all through the trip and doesn't rely entirely on a taxi to go home. He can take the last bus or train or even some days hang out with his close friends (which mostly dinner and drink with Soonyoung and Jaehyun). 

As soon as he reached his desk, he turned on his computer, put down his messenger bag, and proceed to wipe his glasses. Almost his morning routine now – including a sip of coffee later. 

"Morning," Soonyoung approaches his desk. "Something particularly good happens?" 

"Hm," Wonwoo looks at Soonyoung while continuing to wipe his glasses, "Nothing, why do you ask?" 

"Well, I saw a smile – although these days you no longer cry about work, this is still Monday morning. I assume something good happened," 

"Well, not something good happened to me, but..." 

"Wonwoo!" That familiar voice. 

"Here he comes," Wonwoo said under his breath and quickly wore his glasses. 

"Yes, Mingyu-shi," he answered immediately, leaving his conversation with Soonyoung hanging. 

"I need more clarity on the rectification actions and information on off-shore assets of some of these companies," Mingyu hands him over the familiar thick blue folder to him, "I already marked which one you need to search more, so no need to seek the other ones," 

Despite talking vaguely, Wonwoo knows for sure what Mingyu is talking about. The blue folder is the comprehensive legal due diligence result of target companies that their client wanted to acquire. Wonwoo and several other senior associates' hand it to Mingyu last Friday evening. Wonwoo quickly opens the folder and saw handwritten comments and questions on some of the papers, which means Mingyu spent his weekend reading the 350 pages due diligence report. 

"I want them today at 2 PM or earlier." 

Mingyu was about to leave his cubicle, but then stop on his track and ask, "You don't have any other deadline, today, right?" 

"Well, most of the deadlines are for your other clients, so..." Wonwoo decided not to continue and look at Mingyu instead, hoping Mingyu can answer which he prefers to prioritize. 

"Was it the legal opinion for Bank K?" 

"Yes," 

"You can finalize the legal opinion first, distribute my questions and comments to the other team members," 

That will be the logical course of action because Wonwoo is not the only person under Mingyu doing the legal due diligence. Although, Wonwoo has difficulty in visualizing the distribution part. There are several older and more senior associate lawyers in the team. In his mind, Mingyu should hand this folder to them directly instead of making Wonwoo awkwardly telling the seniors to answer the comments and questions. 

"Mingyu-shi," Haesung, a middle associate in their project team, suddenly appears near Wonwoo's cubicle. "I can take the blue folder from Wonwoo and address any of the questions you have," 

"Okay, you do that," Mingyu said dismissively, about to walk away without even sparing a glance at Haesung. 

"Ah also, Mingyu-shi," Haesung said again, "Congratulation for being named one of the top lawyers in Asia for this year," 

_Oh,_ Wonwoo said in his head. 

Mingyu stopped in his track, and from where he sat, Wonwoo literally can see the twinkle in Mingyu's eyes. 

"Ah, you know that?" 

"Of course, most of us know that you just named one of the 40 outstanding legal professionals under the age of 40 in the whole Asia Pacific for this year," 

Mingyu is thrilled that someone mentioned this to him so early in the morning. From the link that Eunha sent to Wonwoo this morning. The 40 under 40 list was announced yesterday. Well, to be named one of the most outstanding lawyers under the age of 40 not only in South Korea but across Asia Pacific region is remarkable. Even Wonwoo feel proud on behalf of Kim Mingyu, to think that he actively works and under the mentorship of this outstanding lawyer is a fantastic feeling. 

Mingyu is swamped by the other junior lawyers congratulating and discussing the list and some of his notable transactions mentioned. 

"Hm," Soonyoung's smiling face suddenly popped in front of Wonwoo, "I guess now I know why you're smiling this morning." 

Wonwoo simply waves his hand and (literally) said shoo to Soonyoung in response. 

*** 

It's lunchtime, but Wonwoo has ordered lunch from Soonyoung instead. He's pretty sure he can't go outside with how busy Mingyu is these days anyway. He heads to Mingyu's office to discuss the legal opinion's final version when he saw Eunha. 

"Is he inside?" 

Eunha rolls her eyes, playfully, "Where else he would be? Oh yeah, the category three warning still stands," 

That's Eunha's playful warning whenever she feels Mingyu feels incredibly narcissistic and needs more praises than usual. 

"Didn't he already have a lot of people raving about it?" 

"Oh, trust me, he's still waiting for more," Eunha said, looking at Wonwoo expectantly. "Anyway, I want to have a quick lunch, so go ahead and see him," 

After several strides, Eunha stopped, "Wonwoo, don't forget to ask Mingyu about your mid-year assessment. Remind him that you also need to diversify your practice group and cases to have a good year-end assessment," 

Wonwoo gave Eunha a thumbs up at the reminder. However, he is unsure how to ask Mingyu for other types of clients for him or ask him to be placed under different practice groups for a single case. He enters the room after knocking. 

"Mingyu-shi," Wonwoo said as he approaches Mingyu's table, "I already send you the opinion's final version. You can give a quick skim over them, and we can directly focus on page 5, where I formulated the answer to..." 

"I'm still waiting, Wonu," Mingyu cut him. 

"Eh?" Wonwoo stopped in his speech, "Yes, what are you waiting?" he looked at Mingyu, confused. 

Mingyu shakes his head slowly and crosses his arms over his chest like a petulant child. Remembering what Eunha said just now, Wonwoo finally realizes. He can't help but giggles a bit. 

"Oh, congratulations for being named one of the outstanding lawyers this year, Mingyu," 

"That's it?" Mingyu pouted. "It's not only in this country, you know, but it's also across Asia Pacific region, and only two people from Korea made it to the list," 

Wonwoo laughs out loud now. "Oh yes, yes, silly me. How can I eliminate that important part?" he tapped his temple playfully. 

"You're not sincere, Jeon Wonwoo," 

Wonwoo can't believe it; here, Kim Mingyu, one of K&C's rising stars, literally pouted because Wonwoo has not congratulated him properly. 

"No, no, I am seriously happy for you," Wonwoo said. "To think that I am working for one of the best lawyers in Asia, and he is actively mentoring me..." Wonwoo think for a bit, trying to articulate better, "I am proud that I work with you," 

Mingyu visibly perks up at that. 

"Okay, I'll take that," he finally smiles, "But I want a present from you as compensation for being so late in congratulating me," 

"Eh, what? Should I remind you who is the senior lawyer here, why are you asking a present from me?" 

*** 

It took another week for Mingyu to stop referencing the 40 under 40 list to Wonwoo and Eunha. A lot of it also comes from the two of them flat out saying, "we're not here to further massage your ego, but there is important work to be done," 

"Wonwoo, you should print and compile the asset list," Haesung toss the bundle of paper to Wonwoo's desk. 

Wonwoo looks up from the case briefs he's working on, "Is this for the acquisition?" 

"Yes, you do that today," Haesung said flatly to him. 

"Uhm, I can hand this over to the secretary. They can arrange documents better than..." 

"No," Haesung urged, "They might have the asset category wrongly. You know better how Mingyu-shi wanted these documents to be categorized right," Haesung unnecessarily emphasized Mingyu in his statement. 

_Oh_

"Okay, I will do that today," 

"Don't forget the assets list from the overseas companies as well," he smirked as he leaves Wonwoo's desk. 

*** 

"I think some of the seniors dislike me," Wonwoo said as he blows into his ramen during lunch the next day. They are out for lunch at the nearby ramen restaurant. Luckily, not a lot of the other associate lawyers love to dine in here, so most of the time, they can talk about office issues freely. 

"You think?" Soonyoung asked disbelievingly, "We all know some of them hates you, it is clear as day," 

Seeing Wonwoo's sad face, Jaehyun quickly kicks Soonyoung's leg under the table. 

"What Soonyoung means," Jaehyun tries to rephrase. "Some of them probably disapprove of how close you are to Kim Mingyu, but I think it's nothing personal," he said while Soonyoung wails from the kick. 

"What I mean is – we don't need everyone to like us. Come on, admit it – this working environment is highly competitive." Soonyoung said as he munched on the gyoza. 

"You should swallow first before you continue," Seokmin said, "It somehow lose the importance impact because you look like a hamster," 

Lee Seokmin is a recent addition to their small group. Quite differently, he is not a junior lawyer or paralegal. He is a Business Development intern from the other floor who somehow got attached to Soonyoung and started following their little group. 

"I mean Wonwoo-shi," Seokmin continues. 

"Just Wonwoo is fine," 

Seokmin smiles at that, "Even in BD division, not many people wanted to be friends. The relationship is transactional. But you choose who you want to hang out with and built a more meaningful relationship, right?" 

From the look of it, it seems that his BD peers also exclude Seokmin, so probably he understands what Wonwoo said. (Plus, Soonyoung probably also fills him with a lot of information and details on the side) 

"To be honest," Jaehyun started, "I think it might also be partially Mingyu's fault, don't you think? The two of you are closer for sure, and even with several other mid associates, he chose to talk and brief you directly. I am not part of your team, but I can understand a little bit of their attitude towards you," 

Wonwoo silently slurps his ramen at that observation. He tries to minimize their interaction and sometimes even conceal how closer he becomes with Mingyu. He speaks more politely if they're not in Mingyu's office or other people aside from Eunha are present. 

"Come to think of it, Wonwoo," Soonyoung finished swallowing his food now. "I'm curious, is there something going on between the two of you?" he asks while wiggling his eyebrow. 

Wonwoo choked on his ramen at that. 

"What do you mean? There is nothing between Kim Mingyu and me!" 

*** 

Soonyoung is observing Wonwoo, who just smiles as he read something from his phone. They're currently at a Starbucks after their lunch. They still have around 15 minutes before they must head back to the office. 

"Guys, I'm heading to the office first," 

"We haven't ordered, though?" Jaehyun, who was busy looking at the seasonal beverage menu just now, is confused. 

"You guys can stay here longer; I have to go back earlier. Mingyu asked for something," Wonwoo explained, "Soonyoung, can you bring me ice coffee? I will transfer the money to you," 

"Sure," Soonyoung answered. He was so close in teasing Wonwoo but decided against it. 

Several minutes after Wonwoo left, Soonyoung can't help but quip. "Who in their right mind would be eager to come back immediately to see their supervisor and talk about work during lunch break?" 

Seokmin laughed at him, "Well, you know, when you have other types of incentives to stay at the office..." 

"Not this again," Jaehyun said as he took his spice latte. 

"No seriously, Jaehyun – you always dismiss my observations on Wonwoo," Soonyoung insist, "But hear this, Wonwoo dragged me to a clothing store three days ago," 

"And..." Seokmin asked, lost as to the importance of that bit of information. 

"I thought to myself, _oh, wow! Finally, our Wonwoo will think about his appearance more and stop using simple black or white collared shirt to the office, right?_ But no!" 

"What did he do?" Seokmin and Jaehyun asked, annoyed at Soonyoung's unnecessary pauses and suspense. 

"He said he was looking for gifts for Mingyu," 

"Oh wow," 

"The funny thing: he ended up not purchasing anything because he was confused on the proper price range for a gift to one Kim Mingyu," Soonyoung continued, "But, he ended up buying a baby blue shirt and light purple shirt for work, and..." 

"What?" Jaehyun is now completely immersed in the story, ask again. "He finally decided to put more effort into his outfit now?" 

Soonyoung grinned, "I remember several weeks ago hearing Mingyu saying to Wonwoo that the purple sweater he wore over his white shirt is cute – because purple looks good on him," 

The other two now stop to internalize that piece of information. 

"OH, have I mentioned as well that once Kim Mingyu casually asked whether I'm dating Wonwoo somehow," 

"He what???" Jaehyun now asked while laughing. 

"How did this happen?" Seokmin asked. 

"We were just somehow bumped into each other at the office's elevator right. I just come back from getting more information on..." 

"Yeah yeah," Jaehyun now urging Soonyoung to get to the point. 

"Oh, someone is hooked on my stories now," Soonyoung teasing Jaehyun. "Anyway, Mingyu asked whether I was dating anyone in the office, carefully said he was seeing people when he was still a junior lawyer. Now that he's a senior lawyer, he has less time to do that. To which I said I don't, and he looked at me and implies whether I have something going on with Wonwoo or not," 

Jaehyun covers his mouth at this information, and the three exchange glances. 

"No wonder you keep hinting things; you have all of these puzzle pieces!" 

"Oh my God, I can feel something going on for weeks now, and whenever these two exchanges glance or just look at each other – I sometimes wanted to bash my head to the nearest wall!" Soonyoung wails, "The tension is so palpable that I am pretty sure other associates started to notice something too now. I'm just confused about how you missed all these signs, Jae," 

Seokmin took the iced Americano that was meant for Wonwoo from the pick-up corner and motioning for them to go back to the office, "But, here we have a dense Wonwoo on the mix," 

"Exactly," Soonyoung said, "I'm sharing with you two so you can also feel my agony whenever I watch them," 

*** 

Wonwoo sat in one of the empty chairs in the huge meeting room. The incoming meeting is one of their rare internal town hall meetings. In the emails circulated, Choi Seungcheol - one of the junior partners, mentioned that this would be a bi-monthly event. However, three months after his announcement, they finally have this town hall meeting, which requires everyone, senior to junior lawyers and even supporting staff, to attend. Wonwoo quickly checks the room's attendance and notices that some of the senior partners are missing. He checked his watch and see that it's only 10 minutes until the town hall was supposed to start. 

He observed Choi Seungcheol, who talked with several of his staff and junior lawyers at the front. He looks super tired, and Wonwoo doesn't know why, but sometimes he feels empathy for him. Handling cases while managing the firm's internal issues must be exhausting. From the looks of it, Seungcheol made most of the office management improvement by himself without other senior partners' involvement. 

"Yeap and here we go," 

Wonwoo looks to his right and finds Mingyu sitting with his leg crossed right next to him. 

"Shouldn't you sit upfront?" Wonwoo asked carefully, "Somewhere there?" his hand gesture vaguely to the front of the room where most attending senior lawyers and partners choose to sit. 

"Oh, they will see me even from here. It's hard to miss me," Mingyu grinned playfully. 

"Whatever you said," Wonwoo answered, knowing there is no way Mingyu will change his mind. 

"I hope Cheol will not keep us for long here; it's 6 PM on a Friday," 

"I don't think you're eager to go home anyway," 

"Nope, but we have lots of client's requests, aren't we?" 

Wonwoo sighed again, "I feel bad for the staffs though; they usually will head home by now," 

"Well, once every other month is not so bad," Mingyu now chooses to side with Seungcheol. 

As the townhall proceeds according to the schedule previously disseminated, Seungcheol gave several updates and reminders for them. The firm's notable transaction update so far to office policy, such as reminders to the supervising lawyers to do their mid-year assessment. Through all of these, Mingyu keep chatting softly with Wonwoo and dropped random information for Wonwoo. 

"We haven't done the mid-year assessment," Wonwoo whispered to Mingyu. 

"What are you talking about – we did," 

Wonwoo looked judgingly at Mingyu, "If you're referring to that 10 minutes chat..." 

"Yes. I told you, you did a great job Wonu, that's my assessment," 

Wonwoo pinched his nose's bridge, unsure whether Mingyu is teasing him or being serious right now. "I need more information than you did a good job. You need to elaborate on that. Plus, I must diversify my cases to improve my year-end assessment," 

If they simply did the mid-year assessment with their principal supervisor. Wonwoo will face several other senior lawyers for his year-end review. Wonwoo is currently also a floating associate, meaning he has not decided on a fixed practice group. Hence, he needs more cases than the corporate or Merger & Acquisition cases under Mingyu. 

"And I told you, I will consider it," 

"It's been two weeks since then; you have to tell me with whom I should work with and on which case," 

"Do you want to work with Jonghyun?" 

Jonghyun is another senior lawyer handling most of the taxation cases within their firm. 

Wonwoo gasped in horror, "You know I hate taxation laws," 

"Oh well, I haven't thought of any other practice group that needs more people, so you have to wait," Mingyu answered back. 

During their chat, Wonwoo easily missed the knowing glances three of his friends exchanged at his left. Soonyoung looks at Jaehyun and Seokmin while mouthing; _they are in their little world._

_Obviously,_ Seokmin mouthed back, and the three giggled silently. 

If Wonwoo thinks that would be all, lo and behold, Seungcheol also mentioned the dang 40 under 40 list, effectively drawing all attention to one Kim Mingyu. Mingyu immediately stands up and graciously smile and gave a short remark before sitting back. 

"It's almost an hour now, end it now, Cheol," Mingyu muttered under his breath. Despite the lovely attention he received just now, he's just so eager for them to finish this thing. 

"Just a couple more miscellaneous announcement, shush," Wonwoo replies quietly. 

"Okay, I know a lot of you are so eager to go home or return to your work," Seungcheol playfully remarks. "I just wanted to remind most of the junior lawyers here to think about fulfilling their mandatory 30-hour per year pro bono requirement. Although from the record, even some of the senior lawyers have not fulfilled this. As a way of encouragement, I wanted to announce that I am now handling three diverse pro-bono cases. If you are interested in labor or environmental issues, you can voluntarily sign up for the cases. I must announce as well that so far, we only have two volunteers, and I will need more than that. So, anyone wanted to volunteer?" 

Seungcheol asked the room in general and met with dead silence. 

"Two volunteers so far," Mingyu giggled beside Wonwoo, "Man, Cheol need to improve his advertising skill," 

Wonwoo doesn't know what compels him to do so. Probably the fact that he relates to Seungcheol's efforts, or Mingyu's giggles, or the fact that he also has not fulfilled his mandatory pro-bono hour. 

Who knows? 

As if taken over by a random spirit, Wonwoo found himself raising his hand and said out loud, "Seungcheol-shi, I want to volunteer for the cases," 

Notice the plural there. He stated cases, not one. 

The smile Seungcheol gave Wonwoo after that makes Wonwoo happy, though. "Okay, great! Uhm – it's Jeon Wonwoo, right? Please write that for me," Seungcheol said to one of his staff, "I will get back to you on the case later." 

"This is not the end, though, everyone! I will still remind you about the pro-bono requirement. Suppose I see people not fulfilling them despite being a senior lawyer, I might pull you into some of these cases. Okay, if there are no other questions, we will end our townhall here and don't forget you can send emails or questions to my team or me from time to time," 

The room immediately buzzes as people get up to leave or chat with one another. 

"Jeon Wonwoo," 

Oh, that sounds alarming. 

Wonwoo looks to his right and finds Mingyu fuming. 

"My office, in 15 minutes," Mingyu said as he stands up and leaves Wonwoo there. 

_Yikes_ , Wonwoo, mentally said to himself. 


	2. Attention, please?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize that I made Wonwoo a lot mature than he was in the first part -recheck Adulting is Hard folks- Accelerated character growth, lol 
> 
> As this was initially started in Dec 2019, I was thinking of Oh, My! Wonwoo for this, but since Mingyu is older, you can pair him with the current super buff Mingyu. What the hell is photographer Mingyu showcasing his muscles, anyway. Plus, I am just gonna ignore healthier buffer wonu 

  
"I said 15 minutes, Jeon Wonwoo. Not 25 minutes," was the welcome Wonwoo received when he opens the door to Mingyu's office. 

"Did I lose the right to go to the washroom?"

Mingyu stares at him from where he sits, dissatisfied.   
  
Truth is, Wonwoo spent several minutes talking to Choi Seungcheol about the pro-bono projects. Blame him, Mingyu's reaction was more of a push for him to secure the project's spot.   
He thought, Seungcheol will let him off quickly. However, the enthusiastic men gave him more background than what Wonwoo expected. It took him 25 minutes to en route to Mingyu's office, with the promise that he's planning to "catch" more people by the weekend to join the case.   
  
"Why did you do that without my prior approval?" Mingyu asked.   
"Why did you say no other senior lawyer is looking for an associate to work on a project? Seungcheol-shi said he was looking for people for 2 weeks," Wonwoo countered the question with another question. 

"I will give the right project for you! Not some unnecessary pro bono work,"   
"Unnecessary work?" Wonwoo's eyes widen in disbelief as he approaches Mingyu's mahogany work desk.

"It is important work! From what Seungcheol told me, this might be a huge case against a big powerful company, and yet here you say-" 

"Did you talk to Seungcheol just now?" Mingyu narrowed his eyes.   
Wonwoo realized his mistake but didn't back down. "Yes, I did. But that's not the point, Mingyu,"   
Mingyu scoffed, "Really? Enlight me then on what is the point then," 

Wonwoo closes his eyes for a moment before continuing.

"I know you are my principal supervisor," he took another breath, trying to calm himself. He does not want to ruin his relationship with Mingyu.

"But I need this. Not only for my year-end review, not only for that. I want to do more public interest work; I told you this before." Wonwoo stops and takes a deep breath, "I told you I don't really like corporate and transaction stuff..."   
Wonwoo saw a shift in Mingyu's face.   
"I will still work on your transaction and other projects, but just give me this opportunity?" Wonwoo asks softly. 

***

  
Mingyu is screwed.   
He lies down on his bed at night and replaying the earlier scene.   
  
He is so screwed.   
Before Wonwoo came to the office, he was so annoyed and told himself that he seriously needs to scold Wonwoo this time.   
But that look. Mingyu slapped his face. 

Gosh, that look from Wonwoo. Mingyu now screamed in his head while pulling his hair. How can someone pulls that puppy eye looks so perfectly? Or more accurately, Wonwoo looks like an irresistible kitten. As simple as that, Mingyu's anger melt away as he finally relented and gave the approval for Wonwoo to join Seungcheol's pro-bono team.   
Mingyu tosses in his bed, unhappy while thinking that his time with Wonwoo will be reduced. 

_Hey, don't blame him_. He is a professional, alright. He always focuses on his works and clients. But these days (more like weeks), he really looks forward to his time to chat and discuss with Wonwoo. It always feels like a reward after hours and hours of hard work.   
So, it's normal to be protective over your oasis at work, right?   
  
Well, he still has another strategy up his sleeves. 

  
  
***   


"Mingyu did what, just now?" Eunha said in disbelief to the other person on the phone. 

"Well, the door is not properly closed, so I can hear their discussion..." 

"Don't lie, Jeonghan," Eunha cut the other person, "I know you probably propped open Seungcheol's door so you can eavesdrop," 

"Do you want to hear the story or not?" Jeonghan, Seungcheol's flamboyant secretary, asked back. Even without seeing his face, Eunha can see his raised eyebrow. 

"Of course, I want it, O' the great Yoon Jeonghan, please shed light for this peasant," 

"So, Mingyu suddenly came – Monday morning to Seungcheol's office, which is uncanny," Jeonghan mutter to the phone. Eunha inwardly agreeing, Mingyu usually brief the week with her first thing in the morning – or go straight to the 'dungeon' to see a certain someone. 

"Guess what is the important issue that he said can't wait to discuss."   
"What?" Eunha is typing random stuff, so people will not think she's misusing the phone's office – which she totally did, but Jeonghan is the one calling her. 

"He suddenly rants about this junior associate named Jeon Wonwoo. He will approve of him to be in Seungcheol's pro-bono team. But, his time will be limited to 3 hours per week," 

"That sneaky bastard," Eunha whispered back. 

"I know right," Jeonghan replied immediately, "It's hard to get people willingly participate for a pro-bono case in this firm, and Mingyu has to somehow sabotage the only volunteer," 

"What did Seungcheol said?"   
Jeonghan gave a deep sigh at that, "He tried to get more hour but Mingyu will not relent. Technically, Mingyu can do that as Wonwoo's principal supervisor," Jeonghan gave another glance to the door, "Sometimes I wish my boss can be more persistent to the other senior lawyers; he is one of the partners in this firm!" 

"He can use the partner-slash-I'm technically your boss card,"

"He has a soft spot for Mingyu; he will not do that to his cousin. Oh, hold on," Jeonghan paused for a moment. Seems like he's trying to listen to the on-going conversation and ended up giggling. 

"What happened?"   
"Seungcheol is preaching Mingyu," Jeonghan continue his giggle, "...on the ethics of office romance,"   
"About time, I have been waiting for the moment he will tell Mingyu to control his crush on an associate while citing to office's memo or internal rules,"   
"You guess it right; he talks about the importance of avoiding office romance with direct subordinate and the risk of abusing his power as a supervisor– hahaha!"   
  
As Mingyu heads back to his office, Eunha saw the satisfied smile lingering on his face. He probably feels pleased to ensure he only loses 3 hours of Wonwoo's valuable time to another partner. Here, Eunha works for a boss who acts like an elementary school kid having a crush.   
Alternatively, a territorial puppy might be best described Kim Mingyu right now. 

***

  
  
As instructed per email he received on Sunday morning, on Monday morning Wonwoo is in the meeting room with Choi Seungcheol, another associate who works mostly under him named Hanbin, two mid-associates from taxation department and surprise, surprise – Kwon Soonyoung. Seems like this is his successful efforts in catching more associate. 

> _"Can you believe that my boss suddenly comes this morning and told me to participate in Seungcheol's team? I bet that guy has not done his pro-bono hour and send me as a tribute."_  
>  _"You'll make a bad tribute, Soonyoung," Jaehyun responded coldly._  
>  _"Isn't this good? We finally got to work together!"_  
>  _Soonyoung stops his ranting to Jaehyun and stared at Wonwoo..._  
>  _"Oh boy, someone please save me from Jeon Wonwoo with the sparkle in his eyes,"_  
> 

Wonwoo can't even retort back to Soonyoung since he really feels the excitement to finally work on something that does not involve getting the rich even richer. He feels genuine excitement over a case. Seungcheol briefly explained the issue via email and said he will have more information today. 

Seungcheol gave them an overview of the case, which involves a big company not really complying with the environmental rules and safety in one of their factories located in Ansan. Their clients are the labor union, assisted by a small legal aid, who has requested the compliance of various safety measures. Yet, the factory manager refused to do so. The legal aid is trying to tap into the reputation and network of K&C firms to help them settle the case. 

"Oh, SMC is a well-known dairy brand," Soonyoung remarks as he looks at the handouts. 

"Yes, that exactly the one that we will deal with," Seungcheol answered.

"Our first step now is for us to ensure that we will not have any internal conflict of interest. SMC is one of the popular brands owned by this company, but it is diverse. I will also ask this with my secretary to check by the system, but also ensure with other senior lawyers and partners that we don't have any on-going or potential transaction with any of the listed companies here." 

"Sometimes, it's tricky to confirm, as they are not really required to list potential transaction by the system," Hanbin continues, "So, ask your supervisors on this information but make sure not to tell any details of the case yet," 

  
"Is it a sensitive case?" Soonyoung asked – for someone who is not interested in the case, he indeed asks a lot, Wonwoo mused. 

"The legal aid mentioned that several outspoken factory workers have been suspended or even fired. We also don't want any escalation to physical harm for them – which is highly possible now," 

As he already did little research over the weekend, Wonwoo ask Seungcheol, "Isn't SMC's holding company known for their environment and social responsibility? I think they got national recognition for it last year," 

"That is true," Seungcheol nodded. "We're not sure what actually happens in this particular factory. We're a little limited on information as most of them are only supplied to us by the legal aid. We are sure of this because this is one of their smaller factories – so it might escape the holding company's radar. We may need to go to Ansan to discuss directly with them sometime this week," 

"Which brings us to the next question," Hanbin looked expectantly to the room.

"Who can allocate time this week for a short trip to Ansan, meet the lawyer from the legal aid and possibly several union members, get their testimony, documents and head back here?" 

The two tax lawyers look at each other and immediately say, "Seungcheol-shi, we're sorry for this. But this week, our team is scheduled to have the signing for overseas acquisition-" 

"The $1,5 billion transactions?" Seungcheol asked back. 

"Yes, sir, that one," the other answered. 

Seungcheol sighed and massaged his temple immediately and said under his breath, "I should formally make pro-bono a mandatory thing this year,"   
  
After checking his calendar with his phone and ensuring some of the research or drafting can be finished earlier, Wonwoo finally speak up, "I think I can go to Ansan this Thursday, Seungcheol-shi,"   
  
Seungcheol now looked at Wonwoo – while Soonyoung let out a satisfied breath next to Wonwoo. 

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Wonwoo," 

"Eh?" Wonwoo is confused with his answer. 

"You have limited billable hours per week to do this. I can tell you why after this meeting, but focusing on the case, that means," Seungcheol look at Kwon Soonyoung expectantly, "It means that only you can travel to Ansan and attend that urgent meeting," 

Soonyoung glances helplessly at the rest of the lawyers in the room, "By myself?"   
"Yes," Hanbin confirmed. 

"Sir, I don't really have experience with this type of case," Soonyoung nearly whines - to hell with his junior associate title at the moment. 

"Don't worry, we will help you with the preparation," Seungcheol said.

"Document checklist and questions," Hanbin added. 

If Wonwoo is not perplexed with Seungcheol's enigmatic rejection earlier, he might laugh out loud seeing Soonyoung's pout. 

"Okay, you are allowed to bring another staff to help you with the documents and meeting–either paralegal or secretary," Seungcheol decided immediately – probably feeling bad for him. "You can also use the car to go to Ansan," 

"We are not sure about the conflict of interest, Sir – how should we list the client matter?" Hanbin asked. 

"Just use prospective clients under my name, ask Jeonghan for the number to enter into your timesheet,"   
After that, Hanbin gave them the general direction of the other two cases and things that they need to research. They also discuss what type of documents or evidence they need to request from their client. 

Seungcheol concluded the meeting quickly after – probably conscious of everyone's hourly count ticking.   
As everyone exits the meeting room to go back to their regular work, Wonwoo is anxiously waiting for Seungcheol's explanation.   
  
"Wonwoo, make sure you put all your work in the timesheet carefully. You can only work for 3 hours per week for this case,"   
Wonwoo doesn't move an inch.   
"Excuse me, Seungcheol-shi?" He must have heard things wrong, right? What can he achieve with 3 hours weekly? That's ridiculous.   
  
Seungcheol gave a deep sigh.   
"Well, someone with direct authority over your billable hour approved that I can only take 3 hours away from your weekly hours,"   
Without even realizing or saying anything else, Wonwoo curse under his breath and said, "Kim Mingyu," and stormed out of the meeting room.   
  
To quickly return to the meeting room to gather his notepad, mumble a thank you to Seungcheol. 

***   


"Eunha, is Mingyu inside?" Wonwoo asked as he strides quickly towards his office room. 

"Yes, he is," Eunha answered as she looked up from her computer. 

"Okay, I need to talk to him,"   
"He's currently in a call with..." Wonwoo walked past her, and Eunha paused in her words,   
"Oh well, it's not a client anyway,"   


"Mingyu!" Wonwoo asked as he pushed open the door – and quickly shut his mouth as he realized Mingyu is in the middle of a phone call using the speakerphone.   
Mingyu looks so surprised with Wonwoo's entrance. 

"Yes," Mingyu said softly. 

Wonwoo shakes his head immediately and slowly walking out from the door, feeling bad for storming into Mingyu's office. (Wonwoo's brain and attitude are taking a vacation)   
A women's voice, from the other line, keeps saying how she has not seen Mingyu in a while, "It's been two months, Mingyu. I don't care how busy you are, we have to meet this week," 

He signals that he will wait outside when Mingyu indicates he will take a seat on the couch.   
"I know, you have repeated that thrice already," Mingyu gave a string of soft "hm" as affirmation to the women's proposed meet up venue and time, and end the call with,

"Okay, I need to check with my secretary, she will call you secretary later."   
  
"Sorry, was it a client?" Wonwoo can't seem to recall that voice – while he knows (almost) all of Mingyu's clients. Wonwoo moves to sit near Mingyu's desk. 

"Uhm, nope," Mingyu massaged his temple a bit, "Why did you look so feisty just now?"   
"Oh, that," Wonwoo immediately remembered, "Mingyu, did you just approve 3 hours per week of my billable hours to help Seungcheol-shi?"   
Mingyu looks as if he holds a smile from blooming, Wonwoo can feel his left eye twitching.   
  
"I neither confirm nor deny it," 

"What can I do with 3 hours per week for a complicated case?" 

"Well, the requirement was only 40 hours per year... dear Jeon Wonwoo," Mingyu emphasized, "If you conducted doing this for 10 weeks – you have almost fulfilled that requirement," 

"That's ridiculous. Technically I hardly help them with three hours," 

"Well, I believe in your capabilities – you can do it with only 3 hours," Mingyu said in a teasing manner. "Or would you prefer for me to undo my approval at all?"   
  
Wonwoo knew that Mingyu will not back down on this issue from his look. 

"Okay, fine," Wonwoo stand up and turn to leave Mingyu's office.   
  
"Where are you going? We will have a lunch break in 15 minutes," Mingyu call for him. 

"Work," Wonwoo answered randomly. 

"You promised to have lunch with me today at the newly opened cafe," 

"I don't recall confirming or denying that lunch invitation," Wonwoo said as he closed the door to Mingyu's office.   
  
_Did he just-?_   
  
Not even a minute, the door is opened to show Eunha's playful face, "I told you, you shouldn't act like a kindergarten kid having a tantrum over their toys," 

***

Wonwoo stomped on his way back to his desk while cursing his fate for having a childish supervisor/boss.

Possibly his desk until the end of the year, should the end of year assessment gone smoothly, he, Soonyoung, and Jaehyun (along with several other of his not-so-friendly cohorts) will be promoted. They will get a cubicle on the upper level. They will finally leave the dungeon. 

When he's entering the paralegal's wings, the first thing he saw is Soonyoung's soulless expression, with Jaehyun looking so confused standing near him. 

"Wonwoo! What happened during the meeting?" Jaehyun asked, "He has been like this after that meeting," he gestured over Soonyoung completely still body, vacantly staring at the computer screen. 

Despite his loudness and over the top reaction, apparently seeing a non-reactive and silent Soonyoung is so eerie. Wonwoo immediately prefers Soonyoung's loud self. 

*** 

"So," Seokmin said. 

"So," Jaehyun said. The two of them looking expectantly to Wonwoo to solve _The Curious Case of Quiet Kwon Soonyoung_ , preferably during their lunch break so they will have the normal chaotic Soonyoung after that. 

Soonyoung stares at the bowl of doenjang-jjigae vacantly. Jaehyun and Seokmin looked at each other worriedly. 

While waiting for his food to come, Wonwoo finally asked, "Soonyoung, do you really dislike this project?" 

On their way to the restaurant, Wonwoo has tried to summarize to Seokmin and Jaehyun how Soonyoung suddenly has to do many things for the case. 

Soonyoung finally exhaled, "Not that, it is more like – I am anxious over it?" 

"I never handled a case like this before, an environmental case with a sprinkle of labor and criminal elements to it," he finally moves to stir his bowl.

"Not to mention, this is SMC group that we're talking about," 

"SMC as in..." Seokmin asked in a doubtful tone. 

"Yeah, that big conglomerate group. You know what's even worse?" Soonyoung starts slurping like crazy – well at least, he starts eating, "I asked around for any available paralegals after that meeting to accompany me – and none of them wanted to accompany me after I said it's for a pro-bono case!" 

"Not a single one of them?" Jaehyun asked as well. Everyone knows, K&C has tons of paralegals. 

Soonyoung ate the vegetable pancake in big bites now, "What an astonishing capitalist mindset every single one of them has!" 

"I mean, understandably, they're focusing on the year-end review and..." Jaehyun tried again. 

" _Understandably_?" Soonyoung nearly shrills now.

"My awesome boss suddenly throws me in this case, without any understanding that I too, need that good year-end review. That I have never handled similar cases before, has almost zero knowledge of it. There is a threat of backlash from the other employees who supported the factory management," Soonyoung counts all the disadvantages for him, "Where is the understanding for me?" 

It is true that sometimes the person who always laugh and looking so playful, can look so scary when they're pressured. 

"I know, I know – we all know," Seokmin interjected, "We just want to help you, and please don't be angry at us," he pats Soonyoung's back several times. 

"Sorry, guys. I don't think bringing a secretary to the Ansan factory will help me much... But those pesky paralegals pretending to be busy frustrates me, as well," 

"Can you go with me then, Won?" Soonyoung asked with puppy eyes. 

Here we go, again. Wonwoo cursed one Kim Mingyu in his head, "I am sorry, Soonyoung. Apparently, Mingyu has put a limit to my hour to do this case," 

Soonyoung gave a loud sigh, "I somehow had guessed that when Seungcheoul suddenly said you have limited time," 

"Well," Seokmin started, "Did Seungcheol said any restriction of bringing a Business Development staff with you?" 

All three sets of eyes are now on Seokmin, "I mean, I did participate in a research project on labor union before. I can volunteer to go with you. I will ask my supervisor, but I think she will let me do it," Seokmin stared at the three of them, "If you want and think I can help...," he added hesitantly. 

"Of course, I want to!" Soonyoung leaped and hugged Seokmin suddenly. 

"Now, we have Seokmin as a tribute as well," Jaehyun concluded. 

"When will you join us then?" Wonwoo asked. 

Jaehyun gave a nervous laugh, "Can I help you guys unofficially, instead?" 

"I'll take it," Wonwoo smiled. 

*** 

AN: This is longer and more technical than what I originally planned. Don't worry; I have a big picture of where this pro-bono case is heading.  
 _I think_ – I think I have it if I can recall the plotline from last year *lol. 

Anyway, please don't hit me with the amount of "pro-bono" words in this chapter. 

**Author's Note:**

> Is anyone looking forward for this universe at all? I'm sorry it took me 9-months for an update. :(  
> Plus, this kinda old picture of Mingyu holding a book titled "International M&A, Joint Ventures and Beyond" at slide 3  
> LOL my muse for law firm AU:
> 
> https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs4CZsgAUf3/?igshid=elx96fvgypl8


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